Memories
by Yuxume
Summary: She has left the minds of most people, but one specific boy still hasn't completely forgotten her.


Riku had always known, deep down inside of him, that it would happen. Ever since Kairi had come into their lives, his and Sora's, and ever since he had seen the pictures they had drawn together in the cave, he had known. The small feeling of resentment that had lodged inside of him when he was a child grew into acceptance as he watched Sora and Kairi gradually become closer.

It was a bittersweet thing, watching the two of them together. Riku was happy for them, of course, since Sora and Kairi were his childhood friends. But even as he smiled for the couple, he couldn't help but remember that one girl who had disappeared from his life.

He remembered her again as Sora reached his final conclusion. He turned to try to explain it to Kairi, but couldn't manage to find the words to tell her. One nod from her said it all, though. She knew what he had to do; she understood what he was trying to say.

Kairi lifted Sora's hand, placing her good luck charm on the palm of his hand. Her left hand fell away, the three bracelets on her wrist jangling, but her right hand continued to hold Sora's. "See you soon." She said. For some reason, the goodbye seemed to have more meaning than just the hope that her friends would return in the near future. The brown-haired boy nodded, and Kairi turned to Riku.

"Riku, you too, okay? You two won't just leave me here again." The red-haired girl smiled, and Riku returned it, nodding. "You two should get some sleep, okay?"

The two of them agreed. There was a tough journey ahead of them. "I'm going to head back first." Riku called over his shoulder as he walked away, hands in his pockets.

"Okay!" Sora replied. But no footsteps sounded on the planks behind Riku, and as he reached the door to the shack, the white-haired boy swept his bangs back from his face and turned to look behind him.

Kairi had pushed herself onto the trunk of the paopu tree and was staring out over the sea, gazing at the setting sun in all of its splendor. Sora was walking back towards her and leaned against the trunk beside her, his hands behind his head. As Riku watched, Kairi's head turned to Sora, her hair flaming in the light of dusk. She said something, and Sora grinned.

Turning away, Riku descended down to the beach and headed towards his boat. Once again, that raven-haired figure occupied his mind. She remained elusive, though, as if she was standing far from him.

* * *

><p>In the dark space that was his mind, Riku stood alone. He gazed around until his eyes fell upon a black and white television set. It sat on a table, and the two objects were oddly out of place in the rest of the darkness. Drawn to the T.V., Riku kneeled in front of the squat table and turned the electronic device on. It crackled to life, but its screen remained a surface of crackling static.<p>

No… No, it wasn't just static. There was someone there… Riku could just barely make out the picture being displayed. It was a girl in a dark cloak… An Organization coat! Riku gasped and grabbed at the edge of the television screen, hitting the device and trying to make the images clearer.

The girl leaned against a tree… One of the trees from Destiny Islands. It was a tree that stood off to the side from the bent paopu tree. The girl's black-haired head turned slightly and Riku caught a glimpse of blue eyes peering at him before the television screen went black.

For what seemed to be an eternity, the wheels in Riku's mind churned ceaselessly. That girl… She was so important to him, but he couldn't remember exactly who she was. And then, everything came flooding back to him.

Riku twisted around. "Xion…!" He gasped. In that instant, light erupted from the space that Riku's feet were and blossomed out to chase away the dark blanket that had covered Riku's mind. Now it appeared that Riku was standing in the middle of a flower field. Daisies, tulips, and all sorts of other flowers bloomed as far as he could see, their vivid colors mingling beautifully with the green of the grass.

"Xion."

The girl stood a few yards away, bending over and looking into the heart of a rose, smiling. Riku hesitated, and then stepped towards her. "Xion…" He whispered.

Xion looked up, an expression of mild surprise crossing her face. "Riku? How did you… What…?"

Riku could now see the details of her person more clearly. She was taller than she had been before, probably mirroring Sora's growth, and her hair was longer. It wasn't quite as long as Kairi's, but it was close and gave her the appearance of Kairi's twin.

But it was Xion nevertheless. Riku exclaimed and gathered her in his arms. "I can remember you…! Now I remember everything that had disappeared

Suddenly, his throat contracted, a burning sensation creeping through his chest. What was wrong with him?

Xion held him at arm's length and looked him over. "You look well. And you don't need that blindfold anymore." Her eyes were like pools of blue as she smiled at him. "I'm happy…

"But you shouldn't." Xion stepped away from him, leaving Riku stunned before her. "I'm not… really part of this world. You shouldn't remember me. This is wrong. It was better off the way it was before. I'm a part of Sora now, Riku. I can't be with you."

"But I do remember you." Riku replied. "It was horrible when I couldn't. There was something there in the back of my mind, constantly bugging me." He folded his arms and closed his eyes. "It was annoying."

Xion giggled, then became serious once more. "You can't, Riku. You can't remember me."

Riku opened his eyes and tried to form words in response to this, but couldn't manage to say them. The lonely feelings that piled up when he saw other couples, especially Sora and Kairi. The odd sensation that he was missing something important. He couldn't put those feelings into words. All that came out of his throat was: "Why?"

Xion shook her head. "If you remember me… What will happen to Sora? I'm glad I listened to you, Riku. I really need to be with him. Without me, he won't have his important memories.

"And after that, who knows what will happen? And Roxas… If you remember me, he might, as well. I can't have that. When you wake up, Riku," Xion stepped closer to Riku. "You won't recall any of this. I'm sorry."

Xion reached up to touch Riku's face, but he jerked back. "Wait." He commanded, and she did. "Just… Just give me something. Anything. That can make me feel like it's okay."

Xion nodded and reached into her pocket. She tugged out a charm, similar to Kairi's. It was in the shape of a star, but was made of blue Thalassa Shells. On the end of the chain was a small charm in the shape of a bar of sea-salt ice cream.

She smiled and placed it in Riku's hand. "Now you have a good luck charm, too. Geez, Riku. I can't believe you would be jealous over something like that."

Riku snorted. "I'm not jealous. It's just… a little lonely sometimes."

Xion nodded. "…I'm sorry. Goodbye, Riku."

And before he could protest any further, she reached up and covered his eyes with her hand. The next thing he knew, Riku was sitting upright in his bed, gazing straight ahead. He blinked once, then twice.

What had he been dreaming about? He rubbed his head, then realized that his right hand was holding something. When did he get Kairi's charm? Oh… It wasn't the same as hers. It was blue, instead of pink. _Hmm… Whose was it?_

But something told him it was okay that he didn't know. And somehow, when he remembered how Kairi and Sora had been alone together just a few hours ago, he didn't feel so sad.

* * *

><p>A few houses away, Sora lay sleeping in his bed. Though he didn't wake up, a tear trickled out of the corner of his eye and fell onto his pillow. Deep inside of him, a memory was replaying. Three friends sat on the top of a clock tower, eating sea-salt ice cream. They were laughing and joking about. As they teased each other playfully, though, the black-haired figure of the group began to become transparent. And as the two other boys turned to speak with each other, she disappeared completely. As if she had never been there. It was also as if she had returned, but then left again.<p>

She had been smiling as she vanished from sight. It was all right, that she was leaving like this. As someone had told her once, she had to think about what was best for her, and Sora. This was the way it had to be.

_Thank you, Riku._

* * *

><p><strong>I hope readers enjoyed this story! This is my first story of this pairing, and it's a little short. And a bit awkward, I think. But I usually think my writings are awkward, so maybe that's nothing new.<strong>

**And Sora was crying at the end because Roxas was crying through him, in case that confused people.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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